Tim Cole: A Final Honor for the Wrongly Convicted
Tim Cole can finally rest in peace.
Exactly 28 years after he was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, the Fort Worth man unjustly convicted of rape — who died in prison and was exonerated years later — will have a new legacy unveiled.
In Lubbock, the site of the crime Cole didn’t commit, a more than 10-foot-tall bronze statue in his image will be unveiled next month not far from the Texas Tech University Law School.
“When he left Lubbock, he left with his head bowed down in disbelief, feeling he had brought shame to his family even though he knew he was innocent,” said Cory Session, Cole’s younger brother. “Now he’s returning.
“And he will forever be there standing tall.”
On Sept. 17, Session will be joined for a dedication ceremony by family, friends and a bipartisan politically star-studded crowd including Gov. Rick Perry, state Attorney General Greg Abbott and state Sens. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, and Dan Patrick, R-Houston.
They will honor Cole, the first person posthumously exonerated in Texas, with a statue they hope will send the message that there is no time limit on justice.
“This has been a long time coming,” Session said.
Cole’s family never stopped fighting to prove that the former Texas Tech student and Army veteran, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison, was wrongly accused and wrongly convicted.
One person who won’t be there is Cole’s mother, Ruby Cole Session, who lived to see the exoneration of her son but died last October.